They’ve
done it! Nearly 6 days faster than previous mark, on April 5, 144 Isle
d’Ouessant, France: 58 days 9 hours 32 mins 45 secs after taking the start on
February 7th, American skipper Steve Fossett and his international crew of 12
aboard the 125’ maxi-catamaran Cheyenne crossed the official WSSRC start-finish
line here at Le Stiff lighthouse on the French island of Ouessant (pronounced
Ushant). They demolished the 2 year old Round The World Sailing record by almost
6 days (an improvement of 5d 23h 4m 39s). Their time toppled the May 2002 mark
of Bruno Peyron and Orange I - and fulfills Fossett’s decade old ambition to
achieve “the most important record in sailing”. Steve Fossett speaking from Cheyenne via satellite phone at the finish line:
"The past 24 hours were slow at first, but improving winds became very strong by the time we crossed the line with 2 reefs and staysail it was very dramatic we had our hands full - around this island the tides were whirling. Everyone is just so happy we are all emotionally drained. It’s quite a celebration. Everybody on this crew is absolutely delighted; this is a satisfying moment for all of us."
When asked if he ever thought he would not make it Steve said,
“When we started out I thought the chance was 50/50 that we would get around. Then I wondered that the boat might not be fast enough…”
The official WSSRC course calls for an eastbound passge from Ouessant, leaving the 3 great capes, Cape of Good Hope (S. Africa), Cape Leeuwin (SW Australia) and Cape Horn (Argentina), returning up the Atlantic to Ouessant. The past 8 weeks saw Fossett and Cheyenne cover over 25, 000 miles along this course at a blistering pace, through every sort of weather, accompanied by a fistful of new RTW segment records. They averted numerous potential technical disasters, including a separated forestay, shorted out instrumentation, broken mast track and a disintegrating forward beam connection at the starboard hull - all resolved in a series of astonishing 'running repairs' by Cheyenne's brilliant crew.
Cheyenne's RTW crew:
Steve Fossett
(skipper) USA
Adrienne Cahalan (navigator) AUS
David Scully
(watch captain) USA
Brian Thompson
(watch captain) GB
Jacques Vincent
(watch captain) FRA
Guillermo Altadill ESP
Mike Beasley NZL
Fraser Brown NZL
Mark Featherstone GB
Damian Foxall IRE
Nick Leggatt ZA
Justin Slattery IRE
Paul Van Dyke USA
For more information visit www.fossettchallenge.com.
Rolex Women’s Match Racing And Clinic Propel Hayes
From April 9-11 eight teams of women match racers competed in the Rolex Women's Match, an International Sailing Federation Grade 4 event. Two and one half days of round robin racing took place in Sonar keelboats on Tampa Bay in St. Petersburg, Florida. Sandy Hayes (Scituate, MA.), sailing with Kim Hapgood, Chafee Emory and Heidi Ziskind, won nine of her 10 matches and was named champion of the 2004 Rolex Women's Match. Organized by the St. Petersburg Yacht Club, with support from title sponsor Rolex Watch U.S.A. to introduce women sailors to one-on-one match racing, the regatta included a skills and rules clinic with match racing world champion Ed Baird.
"The Rolex Women's Match was a great event for us," said Hayes. "I was very pleased with our teamwork of getting the boat around the course. We had great speed, boat handling and positioning.
"SPYC always runs a first class event. The clinic with Ed Baird before the event was fantastic. I can't wait to spend time re-reading my notes and processing the information he presented. Henry Menin also did a fantastic job of spending time explaining situations and the rules during the event."
Other participating skippers included: Louise Bienvenu (New Orleans, LA.), Kristin Britt (St. Petersburg, FL.), Arabella Denvir (Irvington, VA.), Pat Seidenspinner (St. Petersburg, FL.), Rachael Silverstein (St. Petersburg, FL.), and Kris Zillman (Cleveland, OH).
With this win, Hayes receives an invitation to the Rolex Osprey Cup at St. Petersburg Yacht Club, October 27-31.
Organizers of the Rolex women's match were Tom Farquhar and Pat Seidenspinner (both of St. Petersburg); Chief Umpire was Barbara Farquhar (St. Petersburg) with umpires: Henry Menin (St. Thomas, USVI), Steve Wrigley (Richmond, VA.), Ann Newton (Ozona, FL.), Bob Burgess (Bonita Beach, FL.), Tom Rinda (St. Petersburg), Julie Hahnke (Swampscott, MA.), Anders Otto (Seattle, WA), Donna Hobbs (Glastonbury, CT.) and John Ziskind (Newport, RI).
Results are posted on St. Petersburg Yacht Club website www.spyc.org and the Rolex Women's Match website www.rolexwomensmatch.org.